Technology and financial markets expert, Tunji David, has warned that Nigeria could lose a significant share of the wealth generated by its rapidly growing fintech sector if leading technology companies continue to pursue stock market listings abroad.

David, who spoke amid reports that fintech giant, OPay, was considering an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the United States, said while Nigeria had become a fertile ground for building successful technology companies, the country risked missing out on the broader wealth creation opportunities associated with ownership and capital market participation.

According to him, companies such as OPay, Flutterwave, Paystack and Moniepoint have achieved remarkable growth by serving millions of Nigerian customers and businesses, but much of the financial gains from future public listings may accrue to foreign investors if the firms choose overseas exchanges.

He noted that Nigeria possessed many of the ingredients required to produce globally competitive technology firms, including a large population, a youthful workforce and increasing digital adoption.

David argued that foreign listings often shift valuation, trading activity, and investment opportunities to international markets, limiting local investors’ ability to participate in the growth of companies emerging from Nigeria’s economy.

He said such a trend could also slow efforts to deepen the Nigerian capital market, which remained largely dominated by banking, telecommunications and consumer goods firms despite the rapid expansion of the technology sector.

The expert explained that major fintech listings on the Nigerian Exchange could attract new categories of investors, encourage greater participation by retail traders and institutional funds, and create a stronger market for technology equities.

According to him, the attraction of overseas listings is understandable, given access to deeper pools of capital, higher valuations, hard-currency fundraising opportunities and more established regulatory frameworks for high-growth technology firms.

He, however, stressed that Nigeria must strengthen its domestic capital market to retain a greater share of the wealth created by its technology ecosystem.